June 28, 2008

It's no secret that many heavyweight boxing fans wish Tye Fields would just go away. To them Fields represents everything that's wrong with the division; when a fighter of his limited skills can go 41-1 based primarily on his size (Fields is about 6' 8", 270), it reveals the thinness in the ranks.

Not that Fields has tried to test his mettle against any quality fighters as yet. He's risen to #14 in the SportsRatings Top 100, but with 41 wins that just shows how limited his competition has been. Many observers have stated that, on the day he takes on a fighter with solid fundamentals, his shortcomings in speed and defense will be revealed; that day may come tonight when he faces Monte Barrett (33-6). But there are lingering questions about Barrett, too, that he must answer.

Monte Barrett's career, like that of many fringe contenders', is full of ups and downs. Barrett was 21-0, having padded his record like most heavies, when he faced 18-1 Lance Whitaker in August 1999 and lost a split decision; one year later, he was knocked down several times by Wlad Klitschko en route to a 7th round KO at the hands of the champ, who was then 33-1 and ranked #13 in the SportsRatings Heavyweight Boxing Rankings.

Barrett won his next six fights in uneven performances over the next three years, but it was enough to rank him in the top 25 and get him another high-profile fight, this time against HBO hero Joe Mesi. Mesi was undefeated (27-0-0) and ranked #11 when they fought in December of 2003. One scorecard had the fight a draw; the others had Mesi the winner by a point and two points, respectively. Many thought Mesi had been given an "HBO decision" but nevertheless Barrett had this third loss.

So far his losses to strong competition hadn't hurt Barrett's stock much. Just three months later he faced #14 Dominick Guinn (24-0-0) and, winning a split decision, jumped back to #16 himself. It was almost a year before his next fight, against Owen Beck (24-0-0), the third undefeated fighter in a row he'd faced. Barrett scored a 9th round KO, pushing him to his highest ranking at #12.

This and his new association with Don King got him a fight with Hasim Rahman, as a replacement for injured Vitali Klitschko. Rahman was on a comeback streak in '04 and '05, and he and Barrett were good friends. Their fight was lackluster, with Rahman winning an easy decision.

Another year passed before Barrett's next fight. This time he faced Nicolay Valuev, then ranked #3 and undefeated at 44-0. He fought well against the giant, but couldn't do as much damage as he took, and his corner stopped the fight in the 11th round.

To this point, Barrett's loss record consisted of two undefeated fighters, two fighters with one loss, and a former heavyweight champion. Add in his two victories over undefeated fighters and he had a resumé that almost anyone would be proud of, and a legitimate claim to still being a contender-level boxer.

That changed with his next fight in July of 2007, when journeyman Cliff Couser (then 25-12-2) knocked Barrett out in the 2nd round. His third loss in a row—an early KO to an unheralded fighter—pretty much wiped him off the boxing map. He fell out of the SportsRatings Top 100, and broke with Don King, whom he blamed for his recent woes: "I have had four fights with Don King and how many did I win? I was 1 and 3 with him. Now that I'm not under his umbrella I feel like I can breathe." (interviewed by Saddoboxing)

Barrett avenged the loss, returning the favor last December by knocking out Couser in two, then stopped unranked Damon Reed in two as well in February. Whether or not Barrett has indeed regained his prior form is still a question to many.

If he has, then he should beat Tye Fields tonight. The level of competition Fields has faced is nowhere close to what Barrett has seen. In fact, it's likely that were their opponent lineups switched around, Barrett might be 41-1, and Fields would be about 33-6.

Barrett is not a large heavyweight, while Fields is known primarily for his size. That will be nothing new to Barrett, who has faced the giants Whitaker, Klitschko, and Valuev. Though he lost all of those fights, he had some success against all of them, and Fields doesn't have the skill of Whitaker or Valuev, let alone Klitschko.

It won't be easy, and he'll have to be very careful, but if he boxes like he's capable of, Monte Barrett should be able to beat Fields. Fields punches a lot, but they are slow and telegraphed, and his defense is almost non-existant. Barrett will have to stay out of trouble, like he did most of the fight against Valuev, and score when he has opportunity, which should be often. Fields will be coming at Barrett relentlessly, so hopefully Barrett is in good shape from training camp.

A win would leap Barrett from his current #127 ranking back into the top 25 and perhaps jump-start his waning career. A win by Fields, too, would make people take notice, assuming that Barrett looked sharp, and edge him nearer to the top 10 from his current #14.

A loss would be very harmful to either fighter. At 41-1, Fields should be able to beat a 37-year-old ex-contender if he wants to prove he's for real. As for Barrett, if he can't beat Fields, he will have to face the fact that he's unlikely to advance farther in the heavyweight ranks.

June 22, 2008

Chris 'The Nightmare' Arreola defeated Chazz "The Gentleman" Witherspoon Saturday night after Witherspoon was disqualified for what could be called corner trespass at the end of round 3 of their scheduled 12 round heavyweight fight. Witherspoon was receiving an 8 count and being examined by the referee when his cornermen stepped onto the 'apron' before the ref had given the all clear signal stating that the round was over. Though controversial, the decision was probably correct and the fight could easily have been stopped anyway as Witherspoon was very unsteady on his feet. The rules of the fight declared that a fighter could not be saved by the bell.

Though short, the fight had good action and both fighters were quite active through all three rounds. Here is a brief summary of each round:

Round One: Witherspoon started off with an immediate left, trying to show that he wasn't going to shy away from Arreola. The fighters felt each other out with Witherspoon jabbing and Arreola going to the body and looking for a way to move in. Witherspoon kept him away mainly with head shots. After some time Arreola got his chance, and stunned Witherspoon with some inside combinations. Though wobbled, Witherspoon countered with shots of his own, getting away from the ropes and surviving the attack. At the bell, Arreola looked tired from the effort, but he clearly won the round. Score: Arreola, 10-9.

Round Two: Arreola's sluggishness carried over into the 2nd round. He tried to pick up the assault where he left off, but Witherspoon dodged and covered very well and continued to jab and score. Arreola was far less active in round 2 as Witherspoon controlled the action throughout, making it hard for Arreola to let loose again. Score: Witherspoon 10-9 (19-19)

Round Three: Witherspoon seemed emboldened by round 2 and fought closer to Arreola, at one time unleashing a series of uppercuts, many of which found their target, but Arreola was not hurt; he seemed to have caught his breath and was eager to unload another barrage. Eventually he got inside again on Witherspoon, who traded punches with him or covered up rather than distancing, and at about the 2:00 mark Witherspoon went down. He quickly got up and seemed mostly ok, but Arreola smelled blood and went after him. For the most part, Chazz evaded him successfully--until the end of the round. When the fighters were separated with 6 seconds left, Arreola landed a few good punches while Witherspoon tried in vain to clinch; Arreola stepped back and Witherspoon fell to the canvas as the bell rang. He tried to rise immediately, slipping back down once before standing up at about a 6 count, still almost rocking back and forth. He said he could continue but was unsteady. The ref told him to step forward and he did so, awkwardly. At this time the fight could have been stopped, but the ref seemed ready to give him the benefit of the doubt--and the extra minute of recovery time--until he saw Witherspoon's corner men on the apron outside the ropes, before the ref had declared the round over. Though there's some question as to what order these events happened--and whether the ref knew the bell had sounded, since he seemed to ask Arreola to step forward toward Witherspoon to continue--the end result looked inevitable at the time. Officially Arreola won by disqualification, but it was a knockout by any other name. Score: Arreola 10-8 (29-27, fight over via disqualification).

Both fighters looked impressive at times, but clearly Witherspoon's defense wasn't good enough to handle Arreola's power. Sometimes he blocked very well, stopping Chris' combinations in their tracks; other times he dodged, or returned good shots of his own. But at times he blocked a blow that was too strong, or tried to dodge a shot that was coming in too fast, or, most often, chose to counter when he should have tried to get out of the situation. Not being able to do any of the three consistently, he was in over his head. His corner would have preferred him to use one strategy--evasion--and use it consistently. Instead, as he said after the fight, he couldn't resist trying to box his way out, and he paid the price.

With this fight Arreola will be in a position to move toward title contention. Whether he can compete with a really good technical boxer remains to be seen. Anyone who can avoid his barrages, or with a great ability to take a punch, will be bad for Arreola, as he himself is easy to score on. Thus, a great evasive boxer or stronger-jawed fighter could win a decision on Arreola, who, though he can take punches well, takes a lot of them. The better eastern european fighters like Klitschko, Chagaev, and Povetkin, fit this description in one way or another.

Conversely, Arreola hasn't been tested by a true power puncher like Samuel Peter or David Tua. Against these fighters, it would likely be a contest to see who could knock out who first. Tua especially has been hard to hurt, while having knockout power of his own, which is why some (perhaps wishfully) have rumored him to be Arreola's next opponent.

Additionally, any fighter who could take Arreola to the later rounds would have a distinct advantage, as anything beyond round 6 is basically uncharted territory for The Nightmare. Nicolay Valuev, for example, though no offensive technician, could score since Arreola leaves himself open, and might be leading on the cards if the fight went many rounds.

So while Arreola proved he could beat a good, smart fighter, his deficiencies suggest that the best fighters would have a big advantage over him, one way or another. With a few more fights, however, he might be ready to take on a top fighter, but he should work on his conditioning and defense to make sure his shortcomings can't be exploited the way he exploited Witherspoon's defensive lapses Saturday night.

June 18, 2008

In back-to-back weekends in July, we'll be treated to some of the biggest heavyweight fights of the year: Ruslan Chagaev vs. Nicolay Valuev on July 5th, and then Vladimir Klitschko vs. Tony Thompson on the 12th.

But will these fights live up to the hype? It's possible, but given the combatants' track records, there are doubts. The first Chagaev-Valuev match wasn't the greatest fight by any means, and there's the chance that the Klitschko bout will resemble his previous effort, or--in an attempt to derail criticism--he might make short work of Thompson.

It's often the fights with less hype that have the most enjoyable payoff. That's why I'm looking forward to the Arreola-Witherspoon bout on June 21st, a fight that kicks off a great stretch of summer heavyweight fights. Both fighters are young and undefeated, and neither has faced an opponent of the other's caliber.

The matchup of styles is interesting as well. Arreola is a self-described 'banger', though certainly not one of the Tye Fields ilk; far from being a bar brawler, he hits hard and takes advantage of opponents' weak moments. And while Witherspoon can score KOs too, he is best summed up as a more cautious, technical, even 'brainy' fighter; he carried a 3.8 average in high school.

Witherspoon strives to have a diverse style, and studies his opponent: "Right now I fight well on the
inside and I fight well on the outside. I want to have that balance so
that I can take on any guy’s style and beat him at it." (quoted in Eastsideboxing.com).

Arreola, however, doesn't even watch films of his upcoming foe. "I've never actually seen him [Witherspoon] fight. I know nothing about him, really. I leave all the strategy and stuff like that to my team." (quote from Eastsideboxing.com)

The contrasts don't end there. Arreola has fought nearly his whole life, starting at an early age and continuing through a lengthy amateur career. Witherspoon, on the other hand, took up boxing at age 20 and made rapid progress to reach where he is today.

But there are similarities as well: Both men are 6' 4" tall, weight approximately 235 pounds (though Arreola has fought at over 250 before) and were born within 6 months of each other. Both carry records of 23-0-0 into the bout. Each has a relative who boxed. Arreola's father was a boxer, while Witherspoon's 2nd cousin Tim had a long and successful heavyweight career.

Rankings and Careers

Chris Arreola has recently reached the top ten in the SportsRatings Heavyweight Boxing Top 100, while Witherspoon has risen to #28.

Arreola turned pro in late 2003, about a year before Witherspoon. Within a year and a half he'd scored 12 knockouts and one disqualification, before Andrew Greeley took him to a full six rounds in September, 2005. Though he won a unanimous decision, winning all rounds on 2 of 3 cards, Arreola and his manager decided to do extra work on fundamentals and defense; the fight remains the only time Arreola has had to go the distance.

His next win over Domonic Jenkins put him in the Top 100 in October, 2005. He knocked out journeyman Sedreck Fields in May of the next year, then Damian Norris (8-1 at the time) in August. In November, Damian Wills was 21-0-1 when Arreola stopped him in the 7th round. Stoppages of Zakeem Graham and Malcolm Tann, and a first round KO of Derek Berry kept him moving up, and when he beat Thomas Hayes last September he was in the top 20, close to the top ten. A win over Cliff Couser--and losses by other top ten fighters--put Arreola in the top ten in April, 2008.

Witherspoon reached the Top 100 at nearly the same time as Arreola. In November, 2005 he beat Demetrice King to inch into the Top 100. He followed that with a series of wins over other questionable fighters: David Polk, Earl Ladson, Patrick Smith, Charles Davis, and Ron Guerrero. These fights helped hone his skills but barely moved him into the top 50. Wins this year over Kendrick Releford, Jonathan Haggler (then 18-1) and Domonic Jenkins put him in the top 30.

Probable Outcomes

The fighters' bouts with common foe Domonic Jenkins show the difference in the fighters' styles. Arreola was losing his fight against Jenkins after four rounds, but he was able to find an opening and win the fight in the fifth round. Witherspoon also took some shots from Jenkins, but took control of the fight and won easily on all the cards.

What this suggests is that Witherspoon is a better boxer than Arreola, but perhaps not a better fighter. Arreola has gone the distance only once, which is both a good and bad thing. Never having fought more than six rounds, it brings up questions as to what happens if he has to go into later rounds with Witherspoon, and the answer would probably be his first loss, by decision. Conversely, Witherspoon has KOed 15 opponents, but won by decision over many of the "tomato cans" he faced. It's doubtful that Witherspoon could knock out someone of Arreola's ability and resilience. To win, he'll have to avoid getting stopped himself, and he hasn't exactly faced a skilled knockout artist in his pro career so far.

So this will be a great test for both boxers. If Arreola can't get on track against Witherspoon, he may be forced to fight in the later rounds, while Witherspoon will have his skills tested against a fighter who takes advantage of any opportunity given to him. Anything can happen, but I think this mix of styles will result in a very entertaining fight.

My gut instinct says that Arreola's experience, and having faced better competition, gives him the edge. Though Witherspoon can outbox him, Arreola will get through enough to hurt Witherspoon and keep the later rounds even--enough for Arreola to win by a late knockout or even a close 12-round decision. There is a good chance that Witherspoon might frustrate Arreola and win by decision as well, but I don't see him stopping Arreola by knockout. Another possibility is that Arreola overwhelms Witherspoon from the start, but I think (and hope) that Chazz's skills will be able to handle the Arreola attack that has vanquished mostly fighters that are a few levels down.

Either result--an Arreola win or Witherspoon win--will entrench the victor in the top 10 and put him on track to be a legitimate contender for a title shot. Rumor has it that David Tua--also in the SportsRatings Top 10--will fight the winner, which is an excellent idea as Tua needs to step up his competition level.

Despite all the interesting fights taking place in the division in the next month, I would recommend not missing out on this one, as it has the chance to be one of those unheralded great fights that many talk about but few bothered to watch live. Even if it ends early, it should be exciting, and will be the launching pad for the winner.